American community college deploys low-cost RTLS solution to ensure campus security
chrispeng [ad_1]
This fall, a Midwestern community college deployed a solution to provide wireless alerts to its hundreds of faculty members. The HelpAlert RTLS system is powered by RF Technology (RFT), with WiFi-based RFID tags installed under desks and lecterns, so teachers can call for help in an emergency.
The 50-year-old school has 15 buildings and hundreds of classrooms. HelpAlert RFIDThe tag can send a signal over the school’s existing WiFi network and use HelpAlert software to identify where the alert is issued.
The school declined to be named for security reasons. There have been many campus security incidents across the United States over the past year, so campuses want to deploy emergency call technology.
School leaders say the school has an IP telephony infrastructure, but putting an extra phone in every room is expensive. Therefore, the proposal was ultimately rejected. The school also thought about using a panic button based on AT&T’s wireless network, but the carrier’s data bills were also too expensive.
In the end, the school found RFT, a company that offers a pendant with a built-in HelpAlert RFID tag that instructors can hang from their belts or around their necks. There is a button on the pendant, and when the button is pressed, the pendant will emit a WiFi signal. Then, HelpAlert running on the school database can view the pendant location and issue an alert, send a text message or send an audible alert.
The school said that due to the large number of teachers, it is not practical to distribute a pendant to each teacher. Therefore, the school installed a pendant in each classroom. Most of the pendants are installed under the podium, so students are not so easy to find.
In the event of an emergency, the instructor simply pushes a button. The pendant can send a unique identifier, and WiFi nodes within range can read the information and transmit it to the HelpALert software. The campus police room can then view the location of the alarm and send someone to rescue.
After arriving at the scene and solving the problem, the officer needs to press the pendant button again. Then enter the ID number and information about the event into the software and archive it permanently.
If an extreme situation occurs on the scene (such as a student threatening with a weapon), the instructor can long press the button to remind.
Security or police officers can also use the mobile app to check the location of the alarm. In addition, HelpAlert software can provide alert analysis data and historical data.
Mark Gallant, senior manager of the company’s marketing department, said the company launched the campus Help Alert pendant program in 2011. The company provides a variety of mobile and fixed pendant combinations to meet the various needs of customers. “Fixed pendants are cheaper and easier to deploy, and they can use existing WiFi networks,” he said. The mobile version would require distributing pendants to each user and using the WiFi network to determine the location of the alarm.
[ad_2]
